A PET cat “dragged himself home covered in blood” after being shot with an air rifle which shattered his leg into a “bag of bones”.

Owner Ruth Evans is now too scared to let her cat Tyrion out the house after the incident in Great Wakering.

The 40-year-old, who believes her tabby was targeted near Victoria Drive, was left with a £6,500 vet bill after her pet was shot in his front leg.

Tyrion, who is two, was left needing an operation to remove the pellets and put his leg back together.

Mrs Evans said: “He went out after he had his dinner as normal. Then around 7.30pm we heard the cat flap go.

“We know he is notorious for bringing in mice, so when we heard a loud thud my husband and I leaped off the sofa thinking it may be a rat.

“It turns out this was his leg on the floor. I have no other way to describe it but a complete bag of bones.

“He’d dragged himself home and through the cat flap, there was blood everywhere. It was an absolute mess.

“We couldn’t even put him in a cat box, and had to quickly drive him to Medivet 24 Hour in Southend.

“They thought he might have been shot, but we didn’t know if something like a badger had got hold of him. An X-ray confirmed that he had been shot, and showed the pellets inside his leg.

“We were prepared for him to lose his leg, it was shattered.”

Tyrion returned home from the vets on Wednesday after being shot last Friday.

He now has several metal plates in his leg and has been placed on “crate rest” for six weeks to aid his recovery.

Ruth added: “It’s a long road to recovery, he’s not out of the woods just yet.

“Thankfully the amazing vets managed to save his leg, and even gave us money off the vet bill which was originally £7,000 because of how horrified they were.

“Even now we’re still so shocked, we thought the area we live in was a quiet and safe place when in reality someone is going round shooting cats.

“They don’t wander that far, so he must’ve been in someone’s garden when it happened.

“The whole thing was absolutely horrendous and has shaken even me up, our cats are our babies so the thought of someone hurting them is just unthinkable.”

Contact Essex Police on 101 quoting crime reference 42/55160/21.